A COLUMN FOR FARMERS

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 210, 5 September 1928, Page 19

A COLUMN FOR FARMERS

TOP-DRESSING WITH SUPERPHOSPHATE. ARE OUR SUPPLIES LIMITED? THE BATTLE OF THE BREEDS. One remarkable difference between English pastures and those of our own country appears to be the response given by basic slag and superphosphate. Prom the remarks made by Sir John Eussell during his recent visit, it was easy to see that in England slag was regarded as the universal top-dressing, holding cxactly the same place as is held hy superphosphate in New Zeajand. It cannot be that the land in England is more lacking in lime than our own, for it is a well-known fact that little liming is carried out, in the Dominion except in certain districts. In all the trials that have boon carried out in New Zealand on ordinary pastures, super appears to have given the best results, the most recent being in Otago, where extensive trials during the last season have shown it to be superior in a wide range of soils, and under varying conditions. Superphosphate has given excellent results in England too—Sir John Russell mentioned that—but in New Zealand it must certainly be regarded as the manure par excellence. Slag is useful "sod 011 some land, but farmers in purfhasing have to be sure they are getting a brand of iigh solubility, and in addition should see that the unit cost of the phosphatic manure they purchase is not higher than the unit cost of similar manures. Is Nauru Becoming Depleted? Recent 1 v references have been made to the enormous quantities of raw phosphate which are annually being withdrawn from Nauru Island, and fears have been expressed that before long Xew Zealand will have to face a short-. of raw materials. This point has I'f'cn emphasised since the publication °f statist if* showing our imports of r ("'Jc phosphate from sources other than Nauru and Ocean Islands. From the opinion expressed to the writer by one w ho has been intimately connected w ith the work at Nauru, it appears very unlikely that serious depletion is taking Place, the supply appearing almost inexhaustible. Tt, is merely a question of Hie working of the output, and even if ''niiijdera bly larger quantities were '•'kin cjii-li \r;ir. there would He -till ; |>11• -plmte in sight to la-t Now '•'"alaud l'<• ] \ ei y many year-, lanuers have --n often boon warned that supplies u f this or that were rapidly coming to at i end, that they are somewhat sceptical

nowadays. The gradual depletion of natural nitrogenous manures was followed by the introduction of synthetic nitrogenous fertilisers, and it may well be that some process will eventually be introduced to make more effective use of our raw materials for phosphatic fertilisers. Which Breed Is Best? The battle of the breeds, ever an interesting matter with farmers, has been intensified as a result of the Hawera cheese test, in which the scientist found that Friesian milk gave a 19 per cent greater yield than the higher testing Jersey milk. Publication of that report has intensified rather than reduced the feeling existing among the owners of the respective breeds, and both 6ides, or rather all three, for Ayrshires were included in the test, can produce a wealth of argument in favour of * their own favoured breed. More recently there has been published a smaller and less conspicuous report on operations at Waikeria prison farm, which goes to show that there, at any rate, Milking Shorthorns have come out on top, beating the Jersey. And so it goes on. Year after year "we will have different tests being published, and each breed will be favoured in turn. The truth of the matter is that there is no best breed. The Friesian gives a better yielding cheese milk, but it is questionable whether the farmer secures a greater yield on cheese per acre from Friesians than from Jerseys, which are undoubtedly smaller feeders. That, of course, does not get away from the point that high test Jersey milk, such as is received towards the end of the season, will not make up into high-class cheese. That the Milking Shorthorn has its place, and under certain conditions will be superior to either of the foregoing breeds, the writer for one, does not doubt. He has long held the opinion that on some of our colder and rougher country, the hardy little Ayrshire will beat anything, an opinion that has been reinforced as a result of visiting the Porirua Mental Hospital farm, where, on difficult country, the Ayrshires give splendid yields. The farmer who changes from one breed to another because of some fancied improvement, is usually chasing an elusive will o' the wisp, while the man who starts with a poor herd of any breed, and steadily grades it up, is bound to prosper. Uniform Pigs Needed. The need for uniform pigs for export has constantly been stressed in this column, and recent events have served to reinforce the arguments brought forward. The haphazard methods of the past must go. and for export to be successful we will have tc.concentrate on one or two specialised breeds. This advice has recently been tendered dairymen by Mr. Gorringe, pig to

the Department of Agriculture. He pointed out that ve should concentrate on a special breed for pork and another for bacon, standardising our product in the same way as the Danes. There is nothing surer than that we won't succeed on the English market unless we can send forward large lines of even and attractive porkers and baconers. For our pig industry to prosper, better feeding is essential, and more use will have to be made of supplementary crops for use with skim milk and other dairy industry by-products. Recent experiments have conclusively proved that if it pays to feed skim milk alone —and sometimes it doesn't —it pays twice or three times as well to feed skim milk plus some concentrates, such as barley meal. The real economies to be made will have to be made on the farm in the form of more economical use of the foods that are to hand.